Hooded Menace - Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed album review

Deathly, doomy Finns turn up the drama

All things considered, Hooded Menace have more than done their bit for the death-doom genre since forming a decade ago. Not only have they crafted a large number of impressive releases and helped to popularise this somewhat niche genre, but they’ve arguably brought a touch of streetwise morbidity to a scene sometimes overly focused on a more polite, poetic and cerebral approach. With this, their fifth full-length, the Finns continue in much of the same vein in terms of songwriting and that means emphasising the ‘death’ side of death-doom, their sound at times being very much in the same vein as acts such as Autopsy, Asphyx, Incantation and the like. Fat, chugging riffs, full-bodied death metal growls and simple Swedeath-style percussion all feature at times, although of course even slower and more mournful doom riffing remains the foundation. Much in the same way as the pioneers of the genre such as Paradise Lost, or Cathedral, Hooded Menace frequently manage to build a sense of drama by coupling a strong guitar riff with an epic lead or refrain and while Ossuarium isn’t offering any revelations or innovations, it’s hard to imagine that any fans of genuinely heavy slow music will be disappointed here.